Discovered this recent article in the Scotsman online which mentions the level of dignity the patient maintains waiting for and during the colonoscopy procedure. I am currently organising a research trip to a day case unit (as well as the ECG department) and will hopefully receive word from them at the beginning of next week.
Poor hospital standards 'putting thousands at risk
Published Date: 26 September 2010
By Kate Foster
THOUSANDS of patients undergoing hospital tests are at risk from poor hygiene and understaffed wards, a damning investigation has revealed.
A report by Scotland's hospital watchdog has found "breaches" in the adequate decontamination of equipment and patients being treated on understaffed, overcrowded units.
The inspection examined hospital units across the country carrying out endoscopies, diagnostic tests which tens of thousands of Scots undergo every year.
The tests help diagnose conditions including cancer, stomach ulcers and bowel disease. But services at a number of hospitals in Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow and Kirkcaldy have been heavily criticised by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. In categories including clinical safety and patient dignity, some of the hospitals were found to be operating "minimum acceptable standards."
Inspectors found a catalogue of problems, including staff failing to sterilise equipment properly and follow infection control standards. Patients were being treated on understaffed and "cluttered" mixed-sex units, with some forced to wait in corridors.
Patients' groups condemned the findings and warned that pressure on officials to meet government waiting time targets meant patients were being treated "like cattle."
Doctors carry out endoscopies using a flexible tube with a camera which is passed into the gut or bowel to help diagnose or even treat a number of health problems. Patients are either sedated or given a local anaesthetic for the procedure, which is usually treated as a day case in hospital.
Health boards must now ensure patients wait no longer than six weeks for the tests. But at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, inspectors found "inadequate staffing" with patients who had been sedated left without supervision. Staff were so scarce, their report said, it "raised concerns for patient safety."
They also found "multiple deficiencies" in the way staff at Aberdeen were decontaminating equipment, raising safety concerns about infection risk.
Patients who had been undressed for the procedure were kept in mixed sex areas, which was also criticised.
The unit at Ninewells, Dundee had "excellent" decontamination facilities, a report said, but staff failed to follow basic procedures such as handwashing. Patients were put into mixed-sex recovery areas and the unit was understaffed.
Inspectors said the endoscopy unit at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness was meeting waiting time targets but warned that staff "posed an infection control risk" by failing to wear scrubs (sterilised clothing) during procedures. Their report also found a lack of trained staff and sedatives being prepared by junior staff.
Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, was described by inspectors as "well performing" but noted "significant breaches" in decontamination practice.
It warned that some of the facilities were not up to scratch, "posing an infection control risk."
Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow was praised for its "superb" new facility and decontamination procedures but said the dignity and privacy of patients c
ADVERTISEMENT
ould be improved to make it a better experience for patients.
Although the endoscopy service at the Western Isles Hospital, Stornoway, was of a "high quality, " patient dignity and privacy was being compromised by long journeys through the hospital and by patients having to wait in main corridors.
Jan Warner, director of patient safety and performance assessment for NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, said: "We found staff to be hard-working and motivated to provide a good quality of endoscopy service within the hospitals we reviewed.
"We also found areas of concern, largely surrounding decontamination, training and the use of equipment. We have highlighted what we believe the NHS boards concerned need to do to improve their services, and we are satisfied that the hospitals are taking appropriate steps to make the necessary improvements."
But Dr Jean Turner, executive director of the Scotland Patients' Association said last night: "This is dreadful. People are being treated like cattle. This points to people being processed and that's what happens when you have waiting time targets."
Dr Alan Robertson, Scottish council member of the British Medical Association said: "Decontamination standards are set for a reason. Waiting targets will put pressure on hospitals because there is a limited number of staff and rooms but you have to get the balance right."
Health boards said that following the inspections action plans were in place to improve areas which had come in for criticism.
No comments:
Post a Comment